A Tale As Old As Time
by Dalek Prime
Summary: Beauty and the Beast AU. In order to save her great-uncle from death, Mabel offers herself to be prisoner to a wicked beast in his place. In time, the young girl soon discovers that there is more to her captor and her new home then meets the eye. And maybe, just maybe, Mabel could be the key to the monster's salvation. Mabel x Monster Pacifica with a touch of Wendip.
1. Prologue: The Curse

A/N: I don't own Gravity Falls or Beauty and the Beast

* * *

Prologue: The Curse

Once upon time, as most stories such as this started out, there once lived a noble family known as House Northwest. The Northwest family was once a wealthy and influential noble house that held a large amount of land and governed over the countryside and the village that resided within their territories. As to be expected, one who is born into such wealth and power would make them spoiled and uncaring for others.

Such was the case of the Northwest's only child. The young girl was selfish, greedy and cared little for those around her, thinking she was above them. The girl would usually be seen insulting the servants for making the smallest of errors. Her parents tried to steer their daughter in a more humble direction, but their efforts proved useless as their child only greedier as the days went on.

One night during a terrible storm, an old beggar arrived on the Northwest's home and asked if he could spend the night in Nobel's house or least until the rains stopped and offered the girl a rose as a token of his gratitude. The child, disgusted by the very notion of letting some filthy commoner into her home, turned him away. The old man once again asked her, telling her not to judge one by their appearances. But again, the girl turned the beggar away.

In a flash of light, the old man suddenly transformed into his true form: a wicked demon who had come to put the girl through a test of her humility—a test she had failed miserably. The girl begged for forgiveness, but it was too late to seek mercy. The demon changed the wicked child into a hideous creature and placed a terrible curse upon the castle and all who lived within its walls.

The demon then gave the now monstrous girl the rose he had offered her, telling her that she must find true love before the last rose petal fell if she was to lift the curse. If she failed, then she would remain a monster for the rest of her unnatural days and that those who lived in the castle would be forever cursed alongside her as well.

The years rolled by and the monster's hope of finding a true love faded away, leaving her feeling only rage and despair in her heart. For who could ever learn to love a beast?


	2. Mabel and Dipper

Chapter One: Mabel and Dipper

The village of Gravity Falls was a quite little town that resided out in the vast countryside where little happened. The biggest hardship that the townspeople faced were the occasional bandits attempting to raid the town only to driven off by the town guard. For the most part, the villagers of Gravity Falls were relativity kind to one another; however there was one girl in particular that the people of the village had a tendency to treat like something a pariah among themselves.

The young girl's name was Mabel Pines. Now at first glance one would say that there was nothing wrong with the seventeen year old, however if one had lived in the village long enough, then they would see why she was treated differently among her peers. The girl was usually seen walking the streets with her pet pig at her side as if it thought it was some faithful hound. She would be found on occasion sitting by the fountain talking to herself like she was carrying on some conversation with someone who was invisible. A few of the farmers had even seen Mabel dancing alone in the fields, claiming that nature was her dance partner.

To most open-minded people, Mabel would be called free-spirited, sadly however to the close-minded people of Gravity Falls, she was considered to be a freak that was unwelcome among them. While most did not outright insult or pick on her upfront because of her brother's status in the village, but that didn't stop them from giving her rotten looks as she passed people on the street or be asked to leave such establishments such as bakery or the butcher shop the moment she stepped inside. There would be those bold enough to throw rocks at her or call an unwanted child that should've been drowned at birth right to her face. While Mabel hid the pain behind a warm smile to everyone around her, it still hurt regardless.

However, despite the negativity she had to face on a daily basis, Mabel still walked among the village with her ever faithful swine at her side. As always, the young girl wore her her usual attire, which was a dull light blue dress with brown shoes. Her long brown hair ran that ran down to her back had pink bow tied into it that was given to her by her twin sibling as a birthday present.

"So what do you wanna do today, Waddles?" she inquired to her pet

The pig let out an oink in response as it looked up its master with curious look in its eyes, as if he was curious as to why she would be asking him in the first place. Ever since the girl had rescued the farm animal from certain death at the hands of the local butcher, the two were completely inseparable. As per usual in Gravity Falls, the townspeople thought it was just another strange thing the girl did; for who could care for an animal that was meant to be eaten.

"No we did that yesterday" she answered as the continued their walk "maybe we could—ooff!"

The teen's train of thought was instantly derailed when she collided with another person. She fell backwards on the ground and looked up to see the last person she wanted to run into. It was a rowdy teenager by the name of Robbie Valentine, Gravity Falls's local bully and son of the town's mortician. The young man was head of a small gang of hooligans that consisted of his lover Tambry, a heavyset teen by the name of Thompson and a pair of thugs named Lee and Nate.

The company of teens spent their time heckling and bulling the townspeople and on occasion stealing and mugging from their victims as well and even though time and time again they had been thrown in jail for their crimes, they were released shortly after their imprisonment dew to the fact that the gang all came from wealthy families within the town.

While they enjoyed making the townspeople's lives as difficult as possible, Robbie and his friends took an extra sick pleasure out of tormenting Mabel the most. To them, she was an easy target to pick on since hardly anyone defended her from their heckling since they considered that the girl brought it upon herself with her strange behavior.

"Well look who it, boys?" he asked his gang as he glowered down at the girl "It's the freak and her pig!"

"I'm sorry, Robbie" Mabel politely apologized as she got back to her feet "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going"

"And just where you running off to, exactly?" the bully asked snidely "off to fairy land again?"

Robbie's gang snickered at that at remark, making Mabel fell a hot flash of anger before she stifled it back down. At this point, the rest of the teen's gang had encircled around the poor girl, laughing at her misfortune as they did. While Mabel's mind screamed at her to try to run, she stood her ground.

"I'll have you know that fairy land is very nice this time of year" she replied in a matter-of-factly tone before adding "smells better to"

"Why you miserable little freak!" Robbie snarled as he raised his hand to strike her "I teach you some manners!"

However, just before the bully's hand could even touch the girl, a surprise hand reached out and garbed his wrist in a grasp as hard as steel. The teen turned his head to see who had dared to stop him and found none other then his victim's twin brother standing before him. Unlike like his sibling who was mocked and teased, Dipper Pines was a feared and dreaded figure in Gravity Falls. Ever since he and his sister had come to live with their great-uncles Stanly and Stanford after their parents passed away from the plague, the boy had become one of the town's guards, and a very well feared one at that.

Dipper wore a white shirt with a brown leather vest over it as well a pair of brown pants and black boots along with a brown hooded cloak tied around his shoulders and brown leather gloves. His sword was strapped to his side and was ready to be unsheathed at a moments notice. Before he was guard, the young man once had a promising career as a solider in the king's army—perhaps even a knighthood even, but those days had long since past as he regulated himself to protecting the village from bandits and enforcing the law, but more often then not, his job was mostly protecting his sister from those who would do her harm.

"What have I told you about hitting my sister, Robbie?" he growled before shoving him back

"Oh don't mind us; we we're just having a bit of fun" Robbie calmly mentioned before eyeing Mabel "Ain't that right?"

"That didn't look like any fun I've seen" Dipper said darkly "Your lucky I don't arrest you and your friends for assault…again"

"So my farther can have us out in time for dinner? Perfect" the bully mocked "I could use the nap"

Dipper's grip on his sword's hilt grew even tighter as he glared daggers at the teen and his friends until his knuckles turned white underneath his gloves. While this display and the boy's reputation where enough to make most men back down, the gang of rabble-rousers remained unimpressed.

"You really want to do it, don't you?" Robbie teased before reaching for his sword's hilt "Well come on then, draw your sword and let's see finally whose the better warrior!"

There was no contest in that match-up, Dipper was the finest swordsman in the village—maybe in the whole countryside and the town's bully knew it. Robbie only wanted an excuse to run to his farther who was close friends with the mayor to have him thrown out of Gravity Falls and have guard's sister at his and his friend's nonexistent mercy.

A part of him wanted so badly to draw his blade and run the bastard right through, but then he felt the gently touch of his sibling's hand on his shoulder. He turned his head to see Mabel's eyes looking pleadingly into his own, silently begging him not to give into his bloodlust. With a defeated sigh, Dipper released his hold on his sword, exhaling all of his inner rage as he did. He then gestured for his twin and her pet to follow him away from the gang of thugs—more to keep himself from killing them then to keep her out of harm's way at this point.

"That's right walk away, Kinslayer!" Robbie" called out with a harsh laugh

Dipper stopped dead in his tracks upon his shameful title, clenching his fists as he did. The title of Kinslayer was one that was earned by breaking their oath and killing someone they had pledged their loyalty to and Dipper had done both of those things. Had it not been for his services to the crown in the past he would've hung for his crimes, but instead he stripped of his potential chance of ever becoming a knight and was branded with the mark of the Kinslayer upon his forehead; a mark which he concealed under his hair.

Dipper was so ashamed of his misdeeds that when he and his sister came to live in Gravity Falls, he concealed his true and instead renamed himself after the mark that was burned into his flesh. However, while his name and his actions were hidden away from the villagers, the mark on his head was more then enough evidence to show that he was a forsaken man.

The young swordsman's face became cold and hardened like a stone. Before Mabel could protest, he had already spun around and stormed up to the heckler, who continued to grin at the shamed guard.

"There's going to come a day where your family ties won't save you" Dipper warned coldly "and on that day, I hope I'm there to see you fall"

Robbie laughed off this young man's words as Kinslayer turned away and returned to his sister's side, silently containing his fury as he did.

* * *

The Plague Rat was Gravity Fall's local tavern where the town's lowlifes, drunkards and scoundrels gathered to drown their sorrows away in ale. It was also sadly the place where the twins called home. The tavern was owned by their great-uncle Stanly, an old con-artist, thief and even a former pirate before retiring and setting up his bar in the small town. While Stanly was no angel, he cared deeply for his grand-niece and nephew—though he had had a strange way of showing it, what with all the yelling and lying to them as to where he went to at night.

More then often had Dipper thrown his great-uncle into a jail-cell after catching him gambling, stealing or starting fights in a drunken rage. This of course made their relationship a little rocky, but the two got along for the most part. When Mabel wasn't strolling around town, she would be found here in the tavern helping out Stanly serve drinks to the tavern's patrons or cleaning the dishes in the back room, she would even be asked by Stanly to sing to the drunken men on occasion.

The only other employee in Stanley's services was a heavyset man named Soos. The large man didn't like talking about his past, but he did tell Dipper and Mabel of his cabin boy aboard the same ship their great-uncle was aboard. When the bar's owner grew too old to plunder the sea anymore, he took his share of the gold and Soos with him back to the mainland to set up his tavern. Even though he never said it out loud, Stanly saw his man-servant as the son he never had.

"About time you showed up" Stanly grunted out as his own way of welcoming the siblings "Those dishes aren't gonna clean themselves"

"On it Grunkle Stan" Mabel answered as he headed toward the back as her pig followed closely behind her

"I need to get back to my patrols" Dipper mentioned "I wanted to bring Mabel back here to be safe"

"Robbie again?" his great-uncle inquired, to which the teen nodded "One of these days you need to just gut him like a fish"

"Where it so easy" the guardsman murmured under his breath

"You sure you can't still any longer?" Soos asked from across the room as he swept the floor

"And leave this town in the care of Blubs and Durland? I think not" Dipper answered

With that, the once great warrior turned and left the tavern without as much so a good-bye to them. Stan and the others were used to Dipper's blunt nature at this point. Ever since he came to Gravity Falls with his sister, the former solider tended to distant himself from those around him and focused much on his job as a protector for a town that considered him to be nothing more than a monster.

As Dipper stepped outside he was greeted by a welcoming sight. It was an old man riding up to him on horseback; a man the swordsman was quite familiar with in fact. It was his great-uncle Stanford. Unlike his brother Stanly who was total scoundrel, Ford on the other hand was the picture of righteousness. Like Dipper, he too served in the king's army in his younger years and was even knighted for his heroic deeds. When he retired for the army, Ford grew a fondness for exploring and had gone on many trips across the world to state his curiosity until he settled down here in Gravity Falls where his estrange twin brother had also coincidently taken up residence as well.

The two brothers were as opposite as night and day and had tendency to bicker about one another's life choices which often led to fights that Dipper had to break-up on occasion. Ford and Stan kept their distance from one another as much they could; while the old pirate lived in the tavern he had built, the old knight lived in a small cottage on the edge of town. Dipper always held his great-uncle Ford with the highest regard, in fact, it was because of the old knight that the boy wanted to follow in his footsteps, but sadly due to his betrayal to those he had sworn loyalty to, he would never become a true knight like his great-uncle had.

"Ah, Dipper, just the lad I was looking for" the former warrior greeted as he stopped his steed in front of the boy

"Hello uncle" the guard replied "What do you need of me?"

Even after his shaming, Dipper and Ford shared a close bound. They were both curious men at heart and wanted to explore the mysteries of the world. When he was younger, he sometimes traveled alongside the former solider on one of his great journeys into the unknown where Ford would teach the boy how to survive in the wildness and helped him with his sword training. One could argue that exploration was in Dipper's blood since his and Mabel's mother was a shield-maiden who had sailed with the great Vikings of the north and his farther was a merchant who traveled the seas for his next fortune.

"I was just on my way for next expedition into the western woods" Ford explained "care to join me?"

The western wood's was a place where the people of Gravity Falls had said only the truly desperate or suicidal dared to tread. Not only did roving gangs of bandits and packs of rabid wolves live within the dark forest, but also all manners of magical creatures like goblins, gnomes and other creatures took up residence and preyed upon any poor soul that ventured to deep into the their woods. There were even stories of a hideous winged creature that spewed flames from its mouth so hot that it could melt solid steel.

Ford had traveled into the western woods before, but he always stayed along the lighter parts of forest and had yet to journey further into the realm of the magical beings, though Dipper had a sense that may change.

"I'm sorry uncle, but Gravity Falls needs me" he finally answered "Maybe you should change your mind about this trip and wait until I have some spare time?"

"Nonsense my boy" Ford dismissed with a small laugh "There are secrets in that forest just waiting to be solved. Besides, there's nothing in those woods I can handle"

He then patted his sheathed sword he had strapped to his side to get his point across. Despite his age, Stanford could still wield a blade as easily as he had in his youth and had proved it several times over by slaying any thief or mugger who lacked the common sense not to try and rob him. He had even once slain a band of brutish orcs single-handedly in his younger years. However, the old man had to admit that his grand-nephew had since become his superior due to his age and inherit skill with a blade.

Knowing that there was no way he could talk the stubborn old man out his venture, Dipper could give his warning.

"Just try to stay safe out there, will you?" he advised with concern in his voice

"I always do" Ford answered "I will see you in the morning"

With that, the old man commanded his horse to ride onward, leaving his grand-nephew feeling a sense of worry for him as he did.

* * *

Mabel let out a pleased sigh of relief as she placed the last clean dish away. She knew that in a few short hours they would be dirty all over again, but for now she was content with her job. On the other hand, content wouldn't quite be the word she would use to describe her life. She wanted adventure and excitement in her life like Dipper and Grunkle Ford had, not this provincial life.

She had tried to join her great-uncle had one of his travels, but he refused to take her, claming it was too dangerous for her. Mabel always hated that excuse—she was so much more then some tavern waitress, but yet he couldn't see that. Dipper on the other hand refused to let her leave the town with him for a different reason. She was the only shred of his family aside from their great-uncles he had left and he feared for her safety. She could almost understand where he was coming from, but she still longed for adventure.

When she denied by her family any chance of excitement, she turned to the pile of old books Stanly keep in his room to take her mind to far off places. She would read about great battles, hallowing adventures and magical spells. She wanted that life, she wanted her own tale or two tell. Then maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't be seen as such a freak by the people of Gravity Falls.

" _Just once chance, that's all I ask_ " she thought to herself " _just once adventure_ "

Unknown to Mabel, he wish would soon be granted in ways she couldn't even imagine.


	3. A Castle in The Woods

Chapter Two: A Castle in the Woods

Ford didn't know how far he had traveled into the western woods, but it had been further then he had ever been before. The trees were larger and their branches began to block out the fading light of the setting sun. His horse had stuck to the old dirt road throughout his trip, but now the road was starting to fade away the further he pressed onward through the dark forest. The night was slowly creeping into the skies above and the old warrior knew that the worst sort of creatures would crawl out of their holes to prowl the darkness for anything—or anyone—to feast upon.

The explorer cursed himself for letting his pride get the better of him. He should've needed his grand-nephew's words and waited for a day when could join him. Now here he was, lost in the worst places on this earth to be lost in and night was slowly setting in. A cold gust of early winter's air whooshed past him, sending a chill up his spine. His horse began to pace and move about as it head turned in all directions, as if could sense that they were not alone.

Ford clenched his hand around the hilt of his sword tightly, ready to draw it out and plunge it through whatever would be foolish to try and make a meal out him. He had faced death before during his time serving the crown and spat in its face countless times in the past, and this would be no different. Then again, he wasn't the young man he used be and as much as he hated to admit it, his skills weren't as sharp as they used to be.

He could feel in the air now. Something was moving through the shadows that surrounded him and his steed, and judging by the amount rustling in the underbrush, there was more then one of whatever was stalking him hiding in the darkness. The old Knights eyes scanned the area around him, studying every shadow that lay before him, waiting for whatever was watching him to make the first move.

"Come on…" Ford growled as he drew his sword "I'm ready for you"

Only the silence upon the wind returned his challenge at first, but he kept his guard up. The rustling in the woods around had stopped and only thing he could feel was the tension slowly rising in the pit of his stomach. His horse began to twitch nervously, making it more difficult to control it with the reins in one hand and his sword in the other.

Suddenly out of the darkness, a wolf sprang forward out of bushes with snapping jaws aimed right at the olds man throat. While Ford was brave enough to face the wolf head-on, his steed clearly was not. With frightened whiny, the horse unexpectedly reared up on its hind leg, knocking Ford off of its back in the process. The old knight found himself being bucked off his horse and tumbling down a hillside behind him.

Ford rolled down the hillside while his horse galloped off deeper into the forest while wolf gave chase. As he rolled down the hill, the explorer's sword slipped out of his hand and lost in the dark of the forest. Finally, Ford's free-fall came to a stop when he slammed into the side of a tree trunk. An audible _crack!_ was heard from his side as two of his ribs snapped upon impact, making the old man give out a sharp cry of pain from his injuries.

Fighting through the agony that was now coursing through his body, Ford forced himself to stand up. He had sustained many wounds worse then this throughout his time in the army fighting other kingdoms and magical creatures alike in the name of the king, but out on the battlefield he wasn't alone and without a weapon—two things he sorely lacked at the moment.

To make matters worse, he could hear the distant howl of a wolf, more then likely then one who had spooked his horse, signaling to the rest of its pack that it found an easier target to run down. Wasting no time, Ford fought through the pain and quickly ran for his life as he heard the wolves' howls getting closer. The explorer darted blindly through the forest, all the while clutching his side tightly and trying his best to ignore the pain.

After pushing past the trees and underbrush that surrounded him, Ford found himself out in a clearing with a sight that both amazed and disturbed his very core. There before the retired knight was a large and majestic castle. At first sight, it appeared to be unoccupied, but in Ford had a feeling that the castle had residents residing within its walls. The explorer had no idea that where was a structure such as this so deep in the western woods—or anyone crazy enough to want to even build a home in these parts for that matter.

The castle itself was huge and foreboding, casting a huge shadow over the trees in touched like the shroud of death. The stones that made its walls were black as the night sky. From where the old knight was standing, he could that most of the windows had their curtains drawn, keeping anyone from looking in or out of them. Large stone carvings of gargoyles lined the castle walls, all with a look of malice and rage in their eyes. It was clear to Ford that whoever lived here did not like company.

" _You could find more cheer in a graveyard than this place_ " he mused grimly to himself

Even though his mind told him to leave this place and try to find shelter somewhere else, the pain in his side and the wolves drawing ever closer made him ignore his fears and approach the castle. Once he reached the building's massive front doors, Ford knocked loudly on one of them, all the while hoping not to arouse the owner's anger by disturbing them.

A few moments past and no one came to the door to greet him. Ford knocked once more, slightly louder then before in the hopes that he could get someone's attention. As he knocked, the door slowly opened a crack, giving him a small glimpse inside the castle. He could only see darkness—save for a few shapes that where he made out a few lit candles; thus indicating that someone did indeed live here.

Letting his curiosity get the better of him, Ford slowly pushed open the door and stepped inside. He entered a darkly lit room with a split staircase at the center of the room that lead up to the upper levels of the castle. The old explorer could barley make out the shapes of the furniture in the room, but from what he could see, they were all elegant in design despite the amount of dust and cobwebs that had piled onto them.

"Hello" the old knight called out "I'm sorry to intrude, but I've lost my horse and I'm injured. I just need a place to stay for the night"

Just then, he heard the sound of voices whispering back to one another.

"Send him away" a man's voice say from the shadows "He doesn't belong here"

"But the poor man's hurt, we can't just thrown him back out into the woods" the voice of a young woman argued

"Is someone there?" Ford asked into the shadows

At first, the old man heard nothing in response, as if the voices ceased their conversation when he spoke up—that or his injuries were starting to affect his mind. Suddenly, Ford heard the sound of sounded like wings flapping from above him, but he could see nothing. It was then that the aged warrior sensed someone was behind him and spun around to face whoever or whatever had snuck up on him.

Standing before him was a figure dressed in a heavy brown cloak that was holding a candlestick in far from his or her face in a gloved hand. The figure kept their head low, making sure not to reveal their true self to him. Ford could tell that was as tall as he was and from what he could make out from under the cloak, whoever this was had some well-built muscles.

"I don't mean any harm" Ford informed the hooded figure as he raised his hands up as a show of peace

"It's quite alright, sir" a woman's voice came from under the hood "We aren't used to company"

"Will you just send him away already, Wendy!" another cloaked figure demanded as he stormed up to the girl "The mistress will be angry if she finds him here!"

"I'll do no such thing, Fillford!" the woman now known as Wendy snapped back "It's not safe for him to be out in those woods at this time of night!"

"I don't mean to be a bother" Ford interjected "I'll leave if my presence—"

"Nonsense! Your welcome here" Wendy assured him as she began to walk past him "please, follow me"

Despite wondering whoever their mistress was, Ford complied and followed the hooded girl further into the castle.

"Oh, the mistress is going to be cross about all this I just know it!" Fillford groaned before following after the two

The trio walked in silence, though Ford could tell that this Fillford fellow was not pleased in the slightest about Wendy's hospitality. So many questioned raced through the knight's head: why did these people wear cloaks? Why didn't they want him to see their faces? And who was this mistress of theirs that Fillford seemed to fear so much. Once again, the explorer's sense of curiosity got the better of him once more.

"I don't mean to be rude ma'am, but why do you wear those cloaks?" he questioned, hesitant that he may have offended his hosts

"Our faces are rather…different, to those from the outside world" the servant girl explained, though it sounded like she was choosing her words carefully before adding on "We don't wish to scare you"

"Are you all disfigured?" Ford asked

"Something like that, sir" Wendy answered in a more somber tone "something like that…"

Soon, Wendy led their new guest to a small room with an already lit fireplace with a chair in front of it. She gestured for him to sit down, which Fillford did not like in the least.

"Not the mistress's chair!" he objected

"It'll be fine Fillford, she won't notice" the servant girl assured before gesturing to Ford "Please, sit down"

With a nod, the knight sat down in the huge chair and warmed himself up by the fireplace. Wendy then set the candle stick down before clapping her hands twice. In almost an instant, a trio of three more cloaked figured entered the room. One was a heavy-set figure that pushed in a cart that had a tea set on it while the other two were slightly shorter and carried pillows. When the three newcomers saw that it was Ford instead of their mistress, they paused and turned to Wendy for guidance in the matter.

"It's alright" she informed them "he's our guest for the night"

The trio nodded in understanding before continuing on with their tasks. The two younger figures placed the pillows on each side of Ford before on of them walked over to the corner of the room and picked up a small footrest to be placed under the old man's feet.

"Candi, this man is injured" Wendy said to one of the shorter servants "go get the bandages"

"I'm on it!" the one called Candi answered before quickly leaving the room

As the young servant went out to fetch bandages for their guest, the other servant began to pour a cup of tea for him.

"Here, this'll fix you right up, sir" the larger servant said with the voice of an old woman as she handed him the cup

"Thank you miss…?" Ford asked

"It's Susan, sir" the servant answered "careful, it's hot"

It was then that Ford caught a quick look under Susan's hood. Though he couldn't see any features of the old woman's face, he could see a pair of yellow eyes for a brief moment before the servant looked away. It wasn't just the fact that the eyes were yellow that disturbed him, but more that fact that they looked like those of a reptile's that sent a chill down his spine.

"No! No tea!" Fillford protested as stormed over to Susan "He needs to leave right now!"

"Oh will you shut up already?" Wendy commanded

"Not until he leaves!" the butler replied sharply

As the two continued to argue over what do with their new guest, Candi returned to the room with some fresh bandages. She then began to wrap them around the castle's guest's sides. Ford truly appreciated what these very strange people were doing for him, but at the same time, he couldn't help the feeling of worry that was looming over his mind. He feared that if stayed any longer that these good people would earn the anger of their mysterious mistress.

"That's it!" Fillford exclaimed during his argument "He has to go before—"

Suddenly, the door to the small were suddenly thrown open as a huge gust of ice-cold wind rushed in, blowing out the flames in the fireplace and the candles. A huge shadow loomed over Ford as a new and much larger figure entered the room, letting a low rumbling growl as it did. Ford felt a sense he hadn't normally felt in a long time: fear, raw and untamed fear pulsing through this wounded body. He had faced countless enemies in his life as a warrior, but something about this unknown newcomer made him afraid for his life.

"There's a stranger here…" a low and sinister female voice hissed in anger

"M-my lady I-I can explain!" Wendy stammered out "the old man was lost in the woods and I thought—"

"Silence!" her mistress snapped "I'll deal with you later"

"I had nothing to do with this, mistress!" Fillford said with fear laced in his words "I tired to stop her but—"

A strong and almost defining roar cut off the servant's groveling as the shadow slowly moved closer to Ford. Ford forced himself to turn to his right and see a look that nearly made his heart stop out of sheer fright. Two large yellow eyes glared daggers at him

The 'mistress' was a huge seven-foot tall humanoid dragon-like creature. The monster was covered in dark green scales from the tip her nose down to the tip of her long tail. She had a pair of long black horns atop her head with a smaller horn at the tip of her long crocodile-shaped snout, as well of long row of spikes that started at the back of her neck to end of her tail. Her jaws were long and narrow that had long knife-like teeth resting within them. She had long claws for fingernails and her large three-toed feet were also clawed. A pair of large leather wings where folded around her huge body like cape that was dressed in an old purple shirt and trousers. Ford could also detect the stench of sulfur coming off the monster's hot breath.

"Who are you?!" the creature demanded as smoke began to stream out her nostrils

"I'm sorry I was lost in the woods—"the knight tired to apologize

"You're not welcome here!" the mistress of the castle snarled as she shoved him out of her chair

"I didn't m-mean to c-cause any trouble!" Ford attempted to reason as he stood back up

Ford was too caught up at the horrific sight before him to make out any proper words. In all his travels, he had never seen a dragon before—let alone a human/dragon hybrid. What manner of sorcery could have spawned such a monstrosity? As he continued to look on at the creature before him, the mistress of the castle had taken notice of this.

"What are you staring at?!" she roared

"I-I didn't mean to!" Ford quickly apologized

"So, you've come to look at the beast have you?" she surmised harshly, unfurling her wings and exposing the rest of her terrifying form to him in the process "Well have a look you old fool!"

"Please forgive me—I meant no harm!" the old man begged "I just needed a place to stay!"

The monster reached out with one of her huge clawed hand and grabbed Ford by the throat, lifting him up to her eve-level as she did.

"I give you a place to stay" she growled

"No! You can't do this!" Wendy detested as she rushed over to her lady's side "Please show some mercy my lady! He's old and hurt!"

The monster's response to the young girl's request was a strong wipe of her tail that sent her servant flying backwards into a wall, knocking her out cold in doing so. As she laid on the floor, her hood had come off, revealing the visage of another humanoid dragon, only with more human-like features and long red hair that tumbled down to her back.

The beast said nothing as the other servants quickly ran to their fallen comrade's aide. The monstrous mistress then dragged Ford out of the room and further downward into the castle, all the while his cries for help echoed throughout the darkened halls.


End file.
